Love Hurts
by flamingphoenixfire
Summary: Lily is looking forward to going to Hogwarts, but what happens when things don't turn out as she expected?  LilyScorpius.
1. A Slap in the Face

Lily Potter stared down at the delicious food on her golden plate forlornly. For years she had dreamed of finally coming here, to Hogwarts: the history, the mystery, the camaraderie thrilled her from the moment her older brother, James, returned from his first year with stories of his adventures. Four years had given her plenty of time to imagine the train ride, the trip across the lake, and the sorting, but never had she imagined eating her feast at the Slytherin table! She pushed the food around on her plate and glanced down the table to see Scorpius Malfoy laughing and gesturing toward her maniacally. _"Prat," _she whispered to herself. There was no need to ask what he was laughing about. The train ride that now seemed ages ago pushed away thoughts of the present.

"_All the Potters and the Weasleys have been in Gryffindor. You're bound to be with us, Lily," Albus patted her knee and gave her a reassuring smile._

"_Well, it _is_ possible that she might be in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff as well, Al," Rose added with a tone of authority. "Not all families end up in the same house. Look at Sirius Black."_

"_Well, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff aren't _bad_, but I'm sure _you'll_ be in Gryffindor." Her brother grinned at her confidently._

"_Oh, I don't know, Potter," They all turned to see a tall blond boy leaning against the door frame. "You might just have a little Slytherin on your hands there."_

"_As if, Malfoy!" James jumped up glaring at the smirk on Scorpius's face._

"_Lily's not the snarky, sneaky, slime-ball type unlike you Malfoy." Rose chimed in. He had merely chuckled and walked away leaving them all insisting that Lily would _never _be sorted into Slytherin._

Lily remembered the sorting hat's words, _"Slytherin has everything you need. You will do well there." _ Then before the words had a chance to sink in, the hat yelled, "Slytherin." She wondered if her face had been as white as all of her family's were when she caught a glimpse of them after the professor pulled the battered hat off her head. Al had looked near to fainting though he seemed to have gotten over it tolerably well. At least he wasn't having any trouble enjoying his feast. James however continued to throw mournful looks her way every few minutes. She wished she could be sitting next to her big brother rather than down the table from _Malfoy. _James must have sensed her sadness because he chose that moment to stand up and make his way over to the end of the Slytherin table much to the surprise of Rose and Al.

He sat next to her ignoring the hostile looks from the Slytherins down the table.

"You alright, Lils?"

"I guess. I'm just surprised."

"Yeah, but don't worry about it. As far as I'm concerned, Slytherin house just went up a notch." He smiled and gave her a sideways hug.

"Thanks James." He stood up and walked back to the Gryffindor table leaving Lily feeling cold and alone.

She looked down the table at the other Slytherins eating and chatting to one another. Malfoy caught her eye and smirked. Did the hat think she was a snarky, sneaky, slimeball? Cringing at the thought, she couldn't help but remember Aunt Muriel's house erupting with Wildfire Whiz-bangs the Christmas they had all visited. Poor James had taken the blame; causing trouble was one thing, getting into it was quite another. Perhaps she did deserve to wear green after all.

After her dinner disappeared, she pushed her pudding around for what seemed like hours before the eternal feast finally ended. The new Headmistress, Professor Lovegood, stood up and tapped her glass for quiet.

"Now that you have all been fed a delicious meal, you should each hurry off to bed before the Sand Sprites come out." Lily looked over at Albus and was relieved to see the confused expression on his face. Apparently, he had never heard of the things either. Professor Lovegood smiled warmly as the prefect started gathering the first years.

Lily stood up thinking of the warm four-poster bed that waited for her, hoping some of the shock would wear off in sleep. She followed the prefect and the other first year Slytherins down to the dungeons, a bit behind the rest feeling more and more as though she didn't belong. A drawling voice interrupted her gloomy thoughts.

"What's Daddy going to say when he hears his precious princess was sorted into Slytherin?" She turned and glared at the carbon copy of Draco Malfoy sauntering along beside her.

"My Dad doesn't care what house I'm sorted into. He'll love me no matter what." He moved in front of her blocking her path.

"Ah, but how's he going to feel about you being placed in the same house as the 'snarky, sneaky, slime-ball' Malfoy?" A wicked grin slid over his features. "Don't you think he'll worry about his _little girl's _safety?"

Fire welled up inside her. She didn't know what infuriated her more, that she was stuck in Slytherin with this prat or that he had been right about what he said on the train. She put her hands on her hips in a perfect imitation of her mother.

"Is that a threat because I'm not scared of you, you git!" His smiled even wider reminding her of the Cheshire cat she had read about in a muggle book her father had bought her.

"Well maybe you should be seeing as you don't even know how to use a wand yet." He took a step closer to her making their height difference a sharp contrast. She clenched her fist and swung it at his face. A loud crack echoed along the dark hall and Lily looked down at Scorpius sprawled on the floor with his mouth open and noted with pleasure the black eye starting to form marring his pale features.

"I don't need a wand to protect myself from you!" Flinging her hair over her shoulder, Lily marched down the hall after the rest of her house grumbling to herself about blond-headed toe-rags with over-inflated egos.


	2. Punch Drunk

**A/N: After re-reading the Epilogue, I realized that I was wrong about Lily's age. She is two years below Albus and Scorpius, so I have edited the chapter accordingly.**

Scorpius Malfoy watched the youngest Potter stomp away an odd feeling swelling in the pit of his stomach. Reaching up, he pressed his fingers to his swelling eye. Silence alerted him to the fact that he was the only one left in the hall; he pushed himself to his feet and wandered dazedly in the direction Lily had taken.

Scorpius paused in front of the stone wall long enough to mutter, _"Espionage,"_ and then walked into the common room. The first years were just heading into their rooms. Scorpius watched her walk through the door an odd mixture of irritation and admiration swirling in him. He stumbled through the door into his dorm. Several boys were in various stages of preparation for sleep: pulling on pajamas, closing hangings around beds, chatting amiably to one another, but he hardly noticed as he fell backward onto the bed alerting them to his presence.

"Oi! Malfoy. Can I borrow your broo—who gave you the black eye?" Sharpe Zabini looked shocked.

"Lily Potter," he said as he touched his hand to his eye again.

He still couldn't believe it. She had hit him! Hard! He tried to recall the last time someone had struck him but came up blank.

"A girl hit you! He glared fiercely at Zabini which did not faze the black boy in the least, "and you aren't plotting revenge? Hey blokes, Malfoy fancies Potter!" He lobbed a pillow at Zabini's head barely missing him. The other boys made kissing noises.

"Shut it Zabini! I would never date Potter. Can you imagine a _Malfoy_ with a _Potter_?"

"Fire and ice, mate. She's pretty."

Scor grumbled picturing her wicked grin as she looked at his black eye, her long red locks flying as she spun away from him in the corridor. Zabini carried Scor's pillow over and sat down on the end of his bed as the others climbed into their four-posters ignoring the two boys completely.

"She's a first year!"

"Oh and you're so much older, Mr. Third Year. She's struck your fancy. Admit it."

"I'll admit she's pretty feisty." Zabini grinned.

"That's what you need, mate, a feisty one. Aren't you the one who begged you Dad to obliviate your Mum so she would forget your birthday because she kept inviting over all those 'silly girls in frilly dresses?'" Zabini's grin widened.

"Yeah." Lily certainly wasn't a silly girl in a frilly dress.

"Scorpius Malfoy has finally met his match." Scorpius couldn't contain a smile at this thought. She didn't back down, a quality he could respect.

"Her brothers would use the killing curse on me before they would let me date her." He had nothing against the Potters. He enjoyed teasing them, like he had done on the train, but it was all in jest, to him at least. An image of Lucius Malfoy flitted through his mind unbidden.

"Awwww. It's Romeo and Juilet all over again."

"What are you blathering on about, Zabini?"

"Sheesh, don't you ever read? Never mind. Go to bed. You've got a long day ahead of you. Oh and can I borrow your broom?"

"No one touches my broom except me."

"Aww come on!"

"Borrow Goyle's."

"Fine." Zabini turned away grumbling under his breath.

"Hey, what did you mean 'I've got a long day ahead?'"

"Well, I figure you have two choices. Number 1," he held up a dark finger. "Win her over with your charm," Zabini snorted at this, "Number 2, pester her to death."

"I think I'll choose the latter." Scor said realizing too late that he had confirmed Sharpe's suspicions. Sharpe just smiled.

"Well, then you're going to need your sleep because I think you'll be getting quite a few bumps and bruises along the way," and with that he walked off to his four-poster across the room. Scorpius thought of his parents imagining what they would think of him dating a Potter. He could just see the look of horror on his father's face.

"_A Potter! Of all the girls at Hogwarts, you have to choose the only daughter of Harry Potter!" _His father's face would turn bright red like it always did when he was angry. Then his mother would lecture him on propriety and dignity.

"_Darling, she just wasn't raised to the same standards as a Malfoy. I mean look at that_ hair! _I would have done a coloring charm on it if I was her mum." _

He turned on his side thinking of Zabini's words, _"You've finally met your match." _He couldn't deny wanting to get to know her. Perhaps she _was _different from the girls who fawned over him. _There's only one way to find out, "pester her to death." _


	3. Stepping on Your Toes

Lily entered the great hall in the morning for breakfast and took her place from the night before, alone at the end of the table. She brushed the sleep out of her eyes reminding her why she could barely stay awake. After gifting Malfoy with the shiner, she had gone to her room and met her roommates.

"_So _you're _Potter? Look girls we've got a celebrity in our midst." Lily tried to ignore the black-haired girl and headed to the four-poster with her trunk at the end. She noticed her green and silver Slytherin paraphernalia on her bed._

"_How did a Goody Gryffindor like you get put in Slytherin?"_

"_She must have bribed the hat," said a blond wearing pink pajamas._

"_With what," said another blond across the room, "free darning? Bet her mum works for Madam Malkins."_

"_No, Madam Malkins is too nice for her, more likely that second-hand shop." They all laughed and Lily turned to face them._

"_Well at least my mum does something productive. What does yours do all day, charm her nails?" The three girls shot dark looks at her, but she just pulled her nightgown over her head and climbed into the four-poster pulling the green hangings closed around her. She lay awake until dawn wondering who she had offended. _

She didn't have much time to dwell on her misery; however, before Scorpius and a black boy sat down across from her bringing her thoughts to the present.

"Look who it is, Zabini, our little 'savior of the wizarding world' in the making." She felt her stomach clench.

"Nice eye, Malfoy. Would you like another one?" She said in her best mockingly sweet voice. She watched him begin to pile bacon, eggs, and sausage onto his plate and wondered how anyone could possibly eat that much and remain so thin. Wanting to get away from him as soon as possible, she started shoveling food into her mouth.

"Slow down there, Potter. You're going to be sick, and I haven't finished eating yet!" Scorpius drawled. He held his fork suspended between his plate and his mouth eyes wide as she stuffed her last bite of toast into her mouth and heaved her bag onto her shoulder.

"That's all right Potter, don't bother to wait, I'll catch you up later." Scorpius smirked at her before she turned and hurried off out the doors. She growled, frustrated that he seemed not to have learned his lesson. At least he would not be in her classes being two years ahead. It turned out classes were the only place to avoid him. After Charms, where she managed to incinerate her quill, he walked in front of her pretending to fend people off "in case her hair caught fire to their clothes." After Defense Against the Dark Arts, where she fell face forward on the stone floor from having the Leg-Locker curse cast on her before she could mutter the spell for the Jelly-legs Jinx, he held her arm tightly as he led her to her next class because she "might fall and not be able to get up," and after History of Magic, where she drooled all over her parchment ruining her picture of Malfoy being eaten by a hippogriff, he met her once again smirk in place.

"Hey, look! It's the Potted Lily. Learn any useful spells in there? Oh wait, I forgot, you don't need a wand. Do you even have one, then?"

Resisting the urge to throttle him (but only just), she set off to Transfiguration wondering how long he would keep following her. She noticed two girls who were just coming out of a bathroom. One girl had a few red spots on her face. She stopped abruptly and turned to face Scorpius. He stopped too and stared down at her, amusement written all over his face.

"How DARE you say that about Matilda! She can't help it if her acne is bad, you git!" She yelled at Malfoy who seemed momentarily stunned. Everyone in the hall turned to look including Matilda who gave her friend Prissy a murderous glace and jerked her head in Malfoy's direction. Then Lily stood on his foot as hard as she could, and rushed off down the hall, past the girls who were glaring daggers in Malfoy's direction. Before she turned the corner, she looked back to see Scorpius hopping on one foot, Matilda and Prissy closing in on him. _Serves him right!_

She hurried down the corridor so focused on her amusement at the scene behind her, it was a moment before she realized she did not recognize her surroundings. Rather than go back and face Malfoy again, she hurried ahead and found a narrow passageway leading off to a stair. Thinking it must lead to somewhere she would recognize, she headed into the passage and made her way up the steep staircase. A small wooden door stood at the top. It creaked as she pushed it open peered into the darkness.

A quick "lumos" revealed a storage room of sorts. Dust covered old desks and spider webs arched from beams overhead to picture frames leaning against the wall. She moved further into the room boards creaking under her feet. One of the picture frames still held a torn canvass. She leaned over trying to figure out what it depicted.

"The last battle." She turned quickly causing two of the frames to crash to the floor. The luminous shape of a ghost floated before her. His eyes reminded her of a cat's. He must have died of starvation; his fingers looked like those of a skeleton and his face appeared stretched. This particular ghost had not been at the feast, but perhaps he was like the one her father had told her of that lived in a bathroom. He looked rather animal like, not quite human.

"Who are you?" She asked surprised at the steadiness of her voice.

"Tom." His voice sounded rather like a whisper or a hiss.

"Hello, I'm Lily, Lily Potter."

"Lily _Potter,_" he said with a smile.


	4. Thrown for a Loop

**A/N: A hearty thank-you to all my lovely reviewers: Lady Sarai Black and Noc007 for their encouragement, and AuthoressMegz for pointing out my mistake in the age. I appreciate all of you taking time to review. They can only help me to improve. **

As he limped down the corridor to his next class, Scorpius grudgingly admitted to himself that Zabini had been right. Not only had Matilda Flint kicked him in the shins, but Albus Potter, who had seen him talking to Lily, had tried to cast the Full-Body-Bind curse on him causing him to fall into a nearby suit of armor. Fortunately Professor Longbottom had come to his rescue and he had escaped any more injuries. He laughed as he remembered the shock on the Potter boy's face when he hadn't squealed on him. He had told Professor Longbottom he had tripped.

Scorpius had to give Lily credit for her quick wit and cunning. She had managed to shake him, and in the process he could tell she had risen several degrees in the Slytherin girl, Matilda's, estimation. Yes, she was definitely feisty.

The schedule he had nicked from a nearby first year at the breakfast table that morning, after Lily left, told him that she had Transfiguration next; he mentally mapped out the shortest path there. He sat down at a table near the back and took out his quill and parchment. He saw someone take the seat next to him out of the corner of his eye and flinched when he looked over to see Albus Potter staring at him inquisitively.

"What?" He asked feeling uncomfortable under the black-haired boy's scrutiny.

"Why didn't you turn me in?"

"Well, if you're disappointed, I'll make sure to next time." Scorpius unscrewed the cap on his ink bottle.

"You know what I mean."

"Momentary lapse of sanity?" He threw out hoping Albus would cease the Spanish Inquisition.

"Why were you following my sister?" He sighed to himself. Apparently he wouldn't.

"Look, I got you off the hook. I figured it was the least I could do for the kid whose father saved mine. Just drop it, okay?"

He saw Albus's raised eyebrow and knew he wasn't convinced, but the professor started class. Scorpius silently thanked the Professor for the long lecture which made it impossible for Albus to continue their conversation. He absentmindedly scribbled on the corner of his parchment pretending to take notes not really paying much attention to what he was doing. The paper slid from underneath his hand and he looked over to see Albus staring at the letters he had unconsciously drawn, SM and LP. Blood rushed to his head, Scorpius tried to snatch the parchment back from Albus, but the professor got there first.

"Hmmm. Nice notes Mr. Malfoy. Since you enjoy writing so much you can write me a three foot essay on the charm we've been discussing if you have any idea what it is." He returned to the front of the classroom with the parchment in his hand, and Scorpius slumped down in his seat trying to appear invisible. He spent the rest of the class trying to ignore the dark looks Albus kept shooting him.

As soon as class ended, Scorpius stuffed his belongings into his bag and ran out of the room wincing at the pain in his leg. He found a tapestry and moved down the hidden corridor behind it. Breathing hard, he watched the first students were step out into the hall. He waited patiently for the flash of red hair that would alert him to her presence, but the line began to dwindle and still he didn't see her. _Could she have stayed after class? _Scopius peeked into the classroom. Professor Finnegan stood alone looking at some papers on his desk. He looked up at the sound of movement.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I was looking for Lily Potter. I'm supposed to give her a message," he lied.

"She didn't come to class. I thought she must be sick. Try checking the hospital wing."

"Oh…thanks, Professor."

He walked quickly down the hall to the hospital wing. Lily seemed fine when last he saw her. What could have happened to her? If she was hurt Albus would be sure to blame him. He pushed the door open and saw the healer turn to him with an inquisitive look.

"Well, what's ailing you Mr. Malfoy? Stomach ache? Bit of a cold?"

"No ma'am. I'm looking for Lily Potter. I've got a message to give her."

"Lily Potter? She's not here. No one's been in all day."

"Oh…thank-you." He walked back down the hall trying to think of where she might have gone, what could have kept her from going to class. Deciding to start with the place he had last seen her, he turned down the hall where she had stood on his foot. Just as he passed the bathroom Matilda and Prissy had been standing near, he saw her come around the corner ahead.

"Potter! What are you playing at? Why weren't you in class?" She looked at him dazedly.

"Class?" Her voice sounded dreamy, as though she had just woken from a deep sleep and was still disoriented.

"Transfiguration! Professor Finnegan said you weren't there!"

"I missed Transfiguration? But…I was just on my way…I…" Looking at him with wide eyes she finally seemed to realize who she was talking to. She side-stepped him and hurried off down the hall away from him.

Scorpius continued to follow Lily from class to class, bumping into her "accidentally", poking her in the ribs to make her jump, and pushing the strap of her bag off her shoulder. She retaliated by shoving him into another suit of armor, giving him another bruise on his shins, and tripping him into Albus. By the time dinner rolled around Scorpius felt truly lucky to have made it through the day at all.

He sat across from Lily at the Slytherin table taunting her repeatedly without a single response. She was ignoring him. This was intolerable. Bumps and bruises he could handle, but no one ignored a Malfoy. He picked up a pea and threw it across the table pegging her on the forehead. Victory at last! She raised her head and glared at him.

"If you don't mind, I would like to end my miserable day in peace, _Malfoy._"

"Oh, but I do mind, Potted Lily. No reason for you to start enjoying yourself _now _is there?"

"It's amazing your mother didn't abandon you at birth, or did you drive her to the nut house?"

"No, I flew her there on my Firebolt Series 7. Bet you've never even _seen _a racing broom." 

"Malfoy, I started flying when I was three, long before you could ever sit up by yourself." He heard Zabini snort into his goblet.

"Potter, you wouldn't know a broom from a feather duster."

He picked up another pea and flicked it at her. This time it went down the front of her robes. She started squirming around crazily while Scorpius felt his ribs might crack from laughing so hard. After a minute or two she stopped and looked at him. Expecting another kick on the shins, he tucked his legs underneath the bench, but she merely smiled widely. Little tingles ricocheted around in his stomach. _Zabini was right. She is pretty._ Something cold and wet hit him in the face shocking him out of his trance. Juice dripped off his bangs and the end of his nose. He watched Lily and Sharpe beat the table with their fists, both laughing hysterically. _I think he's right. I have met my match. _

**A/N: Let me know what you think. The line "No reason for you to start enjoying yourself now," is from **_**Two Weeks Notice.**_


	5. Drowned in Tears

**A/N: Thank-you to all those who have taken the time to review. I appreciate your encouragement. This chapter is a bit short, but I plan to post another one soon after. I've updated this and all the previous chapters. If you have read the others previously you might want to skim through them again. Let me know what you think.**

The rest of the week continued in the same vein although she managed to make it to Transfiguration. Scorpius had not given up his daily escort service. The Twisted Sisters, as Lily had dubbed Rebecca Rowle, Vanessa Warrington, and Alexis Vaisey, continued to malign her daily. James made a point of coming over to the Slytherin table to "chat" (glare at Scorpius) every morning.

By Friday she felt she had been a fool to have anticipated coming to Hogwarts so much. She sat in her leather arm chair by the fire reading a book on anamagi she had "borrowed" from James's trunk. James had told her he was going to try to become an anamagus like his namesake. She wondered if it would be possible to beat him to it. Malfoy sat across from her deliberately bumping her shoe with his. She struggled to concentrate on a sentence she knew she had already read several times when the book slid out of her hands.

"Hey, give that back!" Scorpius held it up out of her reach trying to read some of the words.

"Anamagi? What you aren't thinking of trying this are you, Red? I mean what would you turn into, a fox perhaps or maybe a cardinal?"

He laughed as he moved out of her reach again. She reached up pulling on his arm trying to get the book out of his hand. He switched hands and she moved to reach for his other arm pressing against him as she did so. Lily felt his body stiffen. He let her pull his arm down and snatch the book away. Opening the book to the page she had been reading, she looked at the blond boy standing as though he had been turned to stone and wondered why he had given up so soon. After a few minutes he sat back down across from her but did not resume his pestering.

The weeks that followed continued with more of the same. Malfoy's attentions annoyed Lily, but his constant presence did have some benefits. Her roommates avoided her whenever he was around, and since his lighthearted teasing was easier to swallow than Rebecca's open hostility, she had stopped trying to avoid him. Their daily banter between classes gave her something to look forward to at least, and when she finally mastered the Jelly-legs Jinx she was delighted to demonstrate her ability to use her wand. One thing she had to admit about Scorpius, albeit grudgingly, he took everything in stride. He never lost his temper; rather he seemed content to suffer at her hands. She finally decided that he must be attention starved. She wondered if he had any real friends.

It was the Friday before Halloween, and Lily was tired of trying to think up comebacks to all of The Twisted Sister's taunts. Last night they had regressed to "mum bashing" again. Her head ached as she walked into her Defense Against the Dark Arts class as usual expecting to see Professor Ackerley.

"Daddy!" Lily flung herself into Harry's arms when she saw him standing there grinning at the front of the room like a beacon in a raging storm. How did he know how much she needed him?

"Hey, Lils." He gave her a quick bear hug. The reassurance almost reduced her to tears. She wanted so much to break down and tell her father all that had been happening, but other students began piling in. Harry gestured to her seat and she sat down. Rebecca Rowle sat down next to Lily.

"So that's your Dad? Not much to look at, is he?"

Lily turned to glare at the raven-haired girl. "Shut your mouth!"

"Nice comeback there, Potter. Course I didn't expect anything better from you."

"I'm warning you," Lily attempted to drill holes into the girls head with her eyes.

"Yeah, I know, keep my mouth shut."

Lily started to answer but her father spoke and she turned to the front.

"Okay, today we're going to learn how to disarm our opponents. Everyone take out your wand and pair off."

Lily watched her father move around the room making sure everyone had a partner. The sight of his familiar reassuring smile boosted her confidence so that even when Rebecca had risen to face her, she secretly rejoiced at the chance to teach the girl a lesson.

"Okay now," Harry called when everyone had been paired off. "Everyone pay attention as Professor Ackerley and I demonstrate the spell. Lily watched as the two men faced one another each gave a brief nod of the head. Before Professor Ackerley could raise his wand, Harry said, "_Expelliarmus!"_ Professor Ackerley's wand flew in a high arch and Harry caught it grinning. He immediately threw it back to the teacher who muttered a brief, "Thanks," and turned to the class.

"Okay, now I want all of you to try it."

Shouts of "_Expelliarmus!"_ could be heard around the room. Lily turned to Rebecca, they both nodded and Lily yelled the spell. She watched with glee as Rebecca's wand went soaring off into the corner of the room. Rebecca marched off to the corner to retrieve her wand, the look on her face savage. Rebecca walked back over and assumed her original position.

"Your mum must have been pretty desperate to take up with _him_," Rebecca said eyeing a spot behind Lily where she heard her father instructing two students on how to say the spell, "but if she looks anything like you then I guess she would take the first offer."

"_Expelliarmus!_" Rebecca's wand flew off into the corner again. She returned from retrieving it with an even darker glare on her face.

"Bet she was just happy _any _bloke would take her," Rebecca sneered.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Again the wand flew across the room. Lily stood shaking as he watched Rebecca return from picking it up. Lily wanted to speak, but she didn't trust her voice. The raw emotion washed over her in waves each pushing her a bit further toward explosion.

"Too bad there aren't any blokes _here _who are that stupid otherwise you might get a date!"

"_EXPELLIARMUS!" _The spell hit Rebecca's chest throwing her to the floor. She lay prone on the cold stone glaring up at Lily with fire in her eyes. Lily shook uncontrollably clutching her wand until her fingernails dug into her palms.

"Great job Lily." Her father patted her back and then reached down to give a hand up to Rebecca. The girl just sneered at him and pulled herself back to her feet.

Lily managed to calm down enough before class ended to enjoy her father's presence. When the class finally dismissed she longed to skip her next class and stay to talk to him.

"So, Mum's okay?"

"Yes, Lils, she's fine." Harry smiled indulgently as she asked the third time.

"She's not too lonely without me?"

"She's managing as best she can." He grinned. "Hey shouldn't you be getting to your next class?"

She hugged him once again dragging her feet as she headed out the door to go to Charms only to find Rebecca, Alexis, and Vanessa waiting. Rebecca fell into step with her, Alexis and Vanessa trailing behind.

"So that's the guy that defeated Lord Voldemort? He can't even defeat his bed-head problem." Alexis laughed appreciatively at Rebecca's jab.

"At least he has hair," Lily countered, "unlike your father, I hear."

Rebecca smirk changed into a snarl. Lily thought she heard Vanessa mutter something from behind her; Rebecca burst out laughing.

"What's the matter, Potter," Rebecca said, her voice raised so those standing around queuing up for classes would hear, "you have bladder problems?"

Lily looked down at the floor and saw a puddle between her feet. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks as all around her laughter broke out from older students queuing up to class. Girls pointed and boys were doubled over with mirth. She ran down the hall hot tears blinding her. She slammed open the door to the bathroom and ran to the nearest stall locking the door behind her. Her chest ached with the effort of not crying out. Laughter echoed in her ears, jeering faces burned bright on the back of her eyelids. Heat coursed through her and she began shaking again. _Why? Why! Hogwarts was supposed to be a dream come true, _but she had walked into a living nightmare. _Why did I ever want to come to this stupid castle in the first place!_


	6. Ripped to Shreds

Scorpius hurried down the hall to catch Lily up after her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Professor Longbottom had kept him after Herbology to tell him off for dropping puffapods all over the greenhouse floor. Bright red hair in a group of girls ahead caught his attention. He came up behind them just as one of the girls said, _"Urinarae," _in a low voice, her wand pointed at Lily's back. The black-haired girl's taunt, the laughter, this was the sort of thing he had endured for two years. He waited to see what hex Lily would use on the silly girl, but when she turned and fled the scene, tears streaming down her cheeks, he looked over at her antagonist with loathing.

_Stupid, evil…"Diffindo,"_ he whispered.The girl's bag split open, sending books, quills, and parchment scattering across the floor. A bottle of ink broke, and what looked like a small scroll wrapped in white plastic came to rest at James Potter's feet. James glared at the now red-faced girl trying to pick up her belongings and kicked the scroll in white plastic toward her.

"Don't forget your tampon, Rowle."

Her blush deepened at James's words. He nodded as he passed Scorpius and mouthed the word, _"Thanks." _Scorpius watched him turn the corner not sure if that nod of appreciation had been meant for him. Scorpius set off to find Lily.

He caught up to her just as she snuck out of the bathroom door, trying to take advantage of the empty halls. Her clothes were dry as were her eyes, but her posture still drooped as though weighed down with a heavy deluge.

"Hey." She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Oh no, not you too!" Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "Go ahead, have your fun-Water Lily, Potty Potter. What's it going to be this time?"

"Why didn't you stand up to her? Hex her back or punch _her_ in the face?" She seemed unable to look him in the eye. Her eyes swept the doors they passed, a prisoner looking for escape.

Rubbing her knuckles, her response came quick as lightning--"My knuckles were sore!" He laughed out loud, the sound echoing down the deserted corridor. A light that had been absent came to her eyes. She tried to conceal a grin, and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Do you want to get us in detention?" The twinkling brown eyes laughed with him. Like the sun, laughter evaporated the misery around them. "We're supposed to be in class."

Scorpius regained control and looked down at her now happy expression. She jabbed him in the ribs and took off running down the hall, throwing a smile over her shoulder at him. Chuckling under his breath he headed to his next class.

Later that evening when he came to the Great Hall for dinner, Scorpius saw Lily and Sharpe talking to each other at the end of the table. Heat rose up in Scorpius when he saw her laugh at something his so-called friend had said. Thinking that there had always been something wrong with Zabini, he sat down next to Lily rather than across the table next to Zabini as he usually did. Sharpe raised his eyebrow looking back and forth between the two of them, but Lily's Shepherd's Pie had her undivided attention; she didn't notice the silent conversation. Scorpius speared one of the mushrooms Lily was pushing to the side with his fork and shoved it into his mouth. He took a few more as he listened to Lily ask Zabini about some kind of opera. She nudged him with her elbow pointing her fork at a mushroom he had missed, still listening to Zabini. When she reached for a dinner roll a little further down the table, Zabini looked pointedly at Lily's plate, _"What's going on?" _written all over his face. Scorpius just shrugged noncommittally.

He dug into his own pie taking the carrots out and putting them on her plate. He saw her slip her wand out, surreptitiously point it at Rebecca Rowle who had just walked into the Great Hall, and mutter, _"Sono operetta _Pirates of Penzance." The hall broke into laughter as Rebecca Rowle stood on the Hufflepuff table and launched into an earsplitting rendition of "I am the very model of a modern Major-General." The girl was completely tone-deaf which only made the scene more hilarious.

Lily turned to Scorpius with a perfect imitation of his smirk plastered on her face.

"How does that suit you?" He laughed harder still and took her hand shaking it vigorously, trying to catch his breath.

"Brilliant!" he said as soon as he could speak, and he burst out laughing again as Rebecca started on the second verse. The snarky, sneaky Lily was back, and he was glad to see the smile on the face of the red-head who had stolen his heart.

That night Zabini came over and sat on the end of Scorpius's four-poster with a solemn look on his face.

"I'm beginning to think you more than fancy her, mate."

"You're imagining things," he evaded not willing to admit that his respect and admiration of Lily Potter had grown over the months. "She's fun to be around. She's excellent for a laugh."

"Yes, but you don't laugh _at_ her. I heard what happened in the DADA hall, mate. Aren't you worried that what you said before is true that nothing could ever come of it?"

Scorpius stared at his green sheets. He thought again of what his father would say if he told the man he was dating a Potter, but this time as the scenario played out in his mind, he found he didn't care that his father's reaction was so bad. He imagined himself telling his father to stuff it; the idea elated him. Then he imagined being able to spend time with Lily as her boyfriend and heat rose to his cheeks.

"I don't give a care what my father thinks of her," He watched Sharpe's expression change from one of concern to one of shock. "She's an amazing girl. If I want to be friends with her, I will, and if one day I want to date her or even marry her, my father will have no say in the matter. It's my choice."

Zabini stared at him opened mouthed, forever. Finally regaining the ability to speak, he whispered, "Merlin!…man all I can say is…Merlin!"


	7. Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Lily sat outside with Hugo enjoying the free time, the sun, and the leaves beginning to fall from the trees. All of the older students had gone to Hogsmede, leaving her free from over-protective siblings and ever-annoying friends. Since the successful revenge on Rebecca Rowle, she had come to regard Scorpius as a sort of friend, the sort that annoys you to no end sometimes. Friday, on the way to Transfiguration, he had pulled her leather hair tie out of her hair and would not give it back. She had turned to say hello to Rose as she was passing by and when she looked back at Scorpius he was staring at her strangely.

"Lily, why do you keep going to that old attic room?" Hugo's question startled her out of her reverie.

"How did you know I was going there?"

"I saw you headed down that corridor a couple times after History of Magic so I followed you. I went up in there after you had left one time, but all I saw were a bunch of old desks and picture frames."

"I like to study there." She didn't know why she lied. After all, there was no harm in talking to the ghost, but for some reason, she wanted to keep Tom to herself.

"Funny place to study. What's wrong with your common room?"

"Well it's hard to study there with Malfoy around," she giggled thinking of how just last night he had stolen her wand and taken it up to the boys dorm, refusing to let her in because "Zabini was changing."

"Hey, did you know James told Albus, Rose and I to stop picking on him?"

"No. I thought he hated Malfoy."

"Yeah, me too. When I asked why, he just said, 'Leave him alone, he's a good bloke.' Weird huh."

"Yeah." What could have gotten into James.

"Albus had a fit about it though, said Malfoy _fancies _you."

"What! Al's mental. He just likes to pick on me, that's all."

"That's what I thought, but Al swears he _knows _Malfoy fancies you."

"Well, surely James wouldn't tell you to lay off him if he thought Malfoy fancied me."

As though he heard her say his name, James walked up to the two of them, Rose and Albus close behind. James threw a handful of candy into each of their laps.

"Thanks," Lily said tearing open a chocolate frog. She pocketed the card with a picture of her father on it to add to her collection later.

"How was Hogsmede?" Lily asked Al.

"Great! You should see Uncle George's joke shop! It's brilliant."

"We saw your friend there," James said.

"Malfoy?" James nodded.

"He seemed to be having trouble deciding what to buy." Lily noticed Al's frown.

"Why do you hang around him?"

"Partly because he's the only one not trying to hex me every waking hour and partly because…he's fun. He makes me laugh." She smiled at the thought. Al murmured under his breath.

"Lay off him." James frowned at his brother.

"Are your roommates still picking on you then, Lily?" Rose interrupted the staring match between the Potter brothers.

"Yeah, they put spiders in my bad last night. Lucky I'm not as scared of them as Uncle Ron is." They all laughed.

"You should prank them." James said.

"James! You'll get her into trouble." Rose squealed.

"Me and Malfoy are working on it." She ignored Rose. Al grumbled again. The siblings and cousins spent the rest of the afternoon chatting by the lake before parting ways to get ready for the Halloween feast.

Delicious smells wafted from the Great Hall when Lily finally made it to the Great Hall. Large pumpkins hung in midair around the room. She walked to the Slytherin table practically drooling as she passed mounds of food. Scorpius was busy talking to a group of third year boys with his back turned and didn't notice her when she sat next to him.

"Well, I wouldn't marry anyone whose blood wasn't pure," said Thaddeus Nott, a boy with spiky brown hair and a pug nose.

"If she has the right figure," Scorpius drew an hourglass in the air with both hands. "I would marry a mudblood!" The boys all laughed and nodded enthusiastically.

"36-24-36, that's the only girl for me." Christopher Goyle, burly dirty-blond haired, banged his fist on the table to emphasize his point.

Lily sat listening to them continue to list off "qualities" they wanted in a spouse and wondered why Scorpius's words disappointed her so much. _Is that all he really cares about? _It wasn't as though it mattered what kind of girls he liked, but she had expected more from him. She looked down at her perfectly normal sized eleven-year-old chest and sighed. Did all boys want that sort of girl? Did Sharpe? She looked over at the dark boy sitting next to Nott. Pleasant chills went up her spine. _He is cute._

Scorpius finally turned and saw her, his face immediately turning red.

"Hey Malfoy. Enjoy yourself in Hogsmede?"

"Umm…yeah. I mean yeah. Here, thought you might like this." He tossed a variety pack of skiving snackboxes into her lap."

"Thanks! These are brilliant. Uncle George gave me a puking pastille once so Mum wouldn't make me help with spring cleaning."

"I thought they might come in handy with a certain dark-haired roommate of yours." They exchanged identical evil grins. They both turned back to their meal, but every once in awhile Lily caught him looking at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey Zabini," Nott grinned at the black boy sitting across from Lily and Scorpius. "I heard Prissy Pucey fancies you!"

Lily's head shot around at this. She waited impatiently for Sharpe's response. He just smiled. Frustration welled up in her. _Could he like Prissy?_ Prissy Pucey wasn't the prettiest girl by far, but she was a second year and very curvy for her age. Lily looked down at her chest dejectedly. Perhaps there was a spell to increase body proportions. She would look it up in the library tomorrow. Taking another bite of Treacle she wondered at the look Malfoy was giving her.


	8. Throbbing Headache

**A/N: I don't know what I would do without all my wonderful reviewers. I appreciate all your comments. Please keep letting me know what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right. **

Scorpius Malfoy sat in his room entertaining Sharpe Zabini by repeatedly banging his head against one of the posts on his bed. Their other roommates were still in the common room chatting about Hogsmede and comparing loot. After several more minutes of thumping, Scorpius looked up to see Zabini smiling at him amusement written all over his face.

"She was there when I said…" he seemed unable to go on, but repeated the hourglass motion.

"Yes. Right behind you. Heard every word." Scorpius resumed his head drumming. He looked up again, a new thought occurring to him.

"But it couldn't have bothered her!"

"Of course not." Scorpius sighed in relief. "She was just repeatedly looking at her chest because she thought she might have spilled something on her shirt."

Malfoy moaned and then dropped his head in his hands. "I am a prat."

"Yes."

"You're not helping!" Zabini answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, on a positive note, you'll only have to wait a few years and she'll fit your description perfectly." Zabini gave him a cheeky look.

"How do you know?"

"Oh come off it! Have you seen her mum?"

"Yeah, so?" Zabini sat up and gave Scorpius a look that clearly said _"you must be joking!"_

"What?" Scorpius slumped against his headboard.

"She's gorgeous that's what! There's no problem figuring out why Potter fancied her."

Scorpius remembered the redheaded woman he had seen standing next to Albus his first year. Zabini had a point, she was pretty. He thought about Lily standing next to him on the platform ten years from now, encouraging a little blond-haired boy like Lily's mum had been doing for Al. Heat spread through his body. Zabini gave him a strange look and he struggled to regain the thread of the conversation.

"Don't tell me you fancy older women, Zabini."

"No, you idiot! Gingers!"

"You fancy red-heads?"

"Mmmm hummm," Sharpe said in a dreamy voice.

"Wait. You don't…fancy Lily, do you?" Scorpius's heart rate increased.

"No! She's yours, mate." Scorpius relaxed. "I…actually…I fancy Rose."

"Rose Weasley!"

"Well why not? You said you would marry a mudblood if you fancied her looks."

"Sure. Yeah. I don't care about her blood. She just doesn't seem like your type, that's all. Rather bookish isn't she?" Though he could understand why Sharpe would like studious, introverted Rose. Although she would stand up for others readily, she wasn't gregarious and flighty.

"Yeah," Zabini answered softly staring into space. Then he seemed to come back to himself. "So, it doesn't bother you she's not a pureblood?"

"No. Why, should it?"

Zabini shifted position. "Well, I just thought…your Dad…" Scorpius thought of all the "talks" he and his father had had about maintaining pure blood lines.

"My Dad does everything Grandfather tells him to. Frankly, I hate my grandfather. He's barmy. Look where all that pureblood nonsense got him. No, I don't care what my Dad says. If love is strong enough to save you from the killing curse then that's for me. I'm going for love, not blood."

"That's me as well. My Dad's told me plenty of stories about how tough it was having a new step-dad every year. I want something that lasts." They both stared into the empty room deep in thought until Scorpius finally broke the silence.

"Which brings me back to my original point, I am a prat!"

Zabini just laughed.

The next day Scorpius woke up early for breakfast hoping to say something to Lily to make up for yesterday's comment. When she walked through the doors, he spit his mouthful of pumpkin juice out. Walking toward him was a Lily with a chest that was hugely disproportionate to her size. He heard several snickers from the boys further down the table and turned to glare at them. They quickly returned to their food.

"Hi, Scor." She sat next to him and he put forth a great deal of effort to keep his eyes on hers as he turned to answer her. Through the fog in his brain he registered the fact that she had given him a nickname. _Scor…_he decided he rather liked it.

"Hi…Lily."

"What's wrong? Your face is all red?"

"Is it?" He covered his cheeks instinctively and looked resolutely straight ahead. "It's warm in here." He watched Sharpe sit down, take one look at Lily, shoot up again, and run from the hall covering his mouth with his hand.

"What's wrong with him?" Lily asked sounding a bit hurt.

"Uh…stomach ache," he lied barely able to breathe.

The next person who appeared before them surprised him. Rose Weasley appeared to be trying to muster her most serious look against her face's better judgment.

"Umm…Lily, could I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure Rose." Rose continued to stand there looking as uncomfortable as Scorpius felt.

"Alone." Rose tilted her head toward the door.

"Okay." Scorpius watched Lily walk out of the hall. As soon as the door closed behind her, he dropped his head onto the table and moaned. _I am such a prat!_

He was relieved to see Rose return with a perfectly normal Lily in tow. He silently thanked Rose for talking some sense into Lily. She took her seat next to him blushing slightly, all the more pretty for it, and started eating her breakfast in silence.

"Lily, I…"

"Malfoy, can I have a word?" Albus stood in the place Rose had stood moments before looking murderous. Disgruntled at being interrupted, Scorpius uttered a cursory, "Sure," before getting to his feet and following Albus out of the Great Hall. They made their way down the hall and into an empty classroom, taking a seat on an empty desk and waiting for the tirade to begin.

"What did you say to her?" Albus began without preamble.

"Nothing…to _her._" Scorpius found a carving on the desktop very interesting.

"I haven't told James what was written on that parchment," Scorpius looked up to see green eyes glaring at him. "but you hurt her, Malfoy, and I'll sic my entire family on you!" Scorpius thought of all the Weasleys and Potters attending Hogwarts and cringed a little.

"I don't plan on…being a prat anymore." Scorpius hoped this would suffice.

"Make _sure _you don't," and with a last green glare Al stood up and walked out leaving Scorpius with one thought. _I am such a prat!_


	9. Crash Into Me

**A/N: Oh marvelous reviews! Wonderful reviews! How I love them so much so that I stayed awake all night to write this update for you! (Not really, I had actually planned this chapter for earlier, but it turned out it was too soon in the story for it.) Hope you enjoy it. To those of you who started reading from early on, my loyal mates, I have updated some of the earlier chapters a little bit. Hope they improve the story some. Now on to the story!**

The "Enhancement Idea" earned Lily the worst torment she had yet experienced from her roommates. Rebecca would tell anyone who would listen that she thought Lily had stuffed a couple of bludgers down her shirt. The sight of Sharpe Zabini still caused her to blush profusely, but at least she had managed to speak to him once or twice. Scorpius, or Scor as she now called him, remained silent on the issue. She had expected his usual taunts, but he seemed to have forgotten the whole thing. After humiliating herself so completely, Lily wondered if she would ever manage to redeem herself in the eyes of her peers. The chance to do just that came sooner than she expected.

One evening, after enduring an unusual amount of teasing from Scorpius, she returned to the common room in a huff to find a new notice pinned to the board. Curious, she read the words that would guarantee her immediate rise in the Slytherin's estimation and the entire school's for that matter. Quiddich tryouts were being held this Saturday. One thing Lily knew better than any other was Quiddich. She had members of her family who had played every position. Uncle Fred and George had been beaters, Uncle Ron played keeper, Grampa James had been a chaser, and her own father was the best seeker in the world. If genetics alone weren't enough to clinch her success, she had years of experience. Standing there in front of the notice, she imagined her green and silver Quiddich robes rippling around her in the wind, her broom shooting ahead of James's, her hand closing over the snitch, everyone cheering boosting her into the air, but a derisive laugh shattered the spectacular scene.

"What do you find so humorous now, Scor?" His eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Just thinking that you would be an excellent beater. You've had plenty of practice on me already." She convulsed into a fit of giggles.

"I should list that as one of my recommendations!"

"Should I show up as confirmation?" He lifted his shirt a bit to show her the latest bruise on his side.

"Wow, I didn't know you bruised so easily!" She touched the purple bruise making him jerk away quickly. "Sorry, I wasn't really trying to leave evidence!"

He pulled his shirt back down quickly. "I'm planning on trying out for chaser. Think I might have a shot?"

"You must be pretty fast. You manage to steal my things away quite often."

"What position are you going for, then?"

"All of them."

"What, seeker, chaser, and beater?"

"Yeah. I've played them all. They can just put me where they think I'll be best." Scorpius's incredulous look rankled her.

"Umm…you know first years don't usually make the teams, right?"

"My father did. He was a seeker, and he didn't even have any experience!" Scorpius still looked incredulous.

"You'll see, Rebecca will have to change her tune once I'm on the Quidditch team." Scorpius just raised an eyebrow in response.

Saturday dawned bright and breezy. Lily ate her breakfast, calmly replaying complex Quiddich moves in her mind and wondering which would best display her skill. After second helpings of bacon she slid out of her seat and made her way out of the hall and down to the pitch. The air felt crisp thrilling her senses. She couldn't wait to feel it streaming past her. When she arrived she saw a group of boys dressed in the Slytherin Quiddich robes. Various others were making their way onto the pitch, brooms in hand. Lily felt a jolt of panic as she realized her broom was packed away in her closet miles from here.

"Okay, line up," a tall brown-haired Slytherin, obviously the captain, snarled at the candidates. Lily noticed for the first time that she was the only girl on the pitch. Several Slytherin girls sat in the stands giggling and simpering at the boys, but none of them came forward at the captain's call.

"You! Ginger!"

"Lily," she corrected.

"Whatever. We don't take first years or girls." One of the other team members snickered appreciatively.

"Why?"

The captain looked confused. "What do you mean why?" he responded as though it were obvious.

"What's wrong with letting girls play?"

"This is a sport. It's no place for a girl. Why don't you go try out for the Gobstones club." More snickers erupted.

Lily crossed her arms over her chest her temperature rising. "I bet I can beat any one of you in any position!"

"Ooooh…," a tall dirty-blond haired boy with watery blue eyes smirked at her. "I'd like to see that, Warrington. Let her try, she wins we let her play, she loses, she cleans the locker rooms until Christmas."

A twisted grin appeared on the captain's face. "Alright then, who wants to go against her?" A small lean black boy with deep chocolate eyes stepped forward out of the line of candidates.

"What's your name," Warrington snarled.

"Dashon Thomas."

"Alright Thomas mount up. First one to the snitch wins."

Thomas climbed aboard his broom. Someone shoved a broom into Lily's hand and she climbed onto it, too distracted to notice her benefactor. They both kicked off and hovered above the ground. The sleek broom moved whichever way she wanted as though it anticipated her. She felt something etched into the handle and decided to take a closer look later. Her confidence increased as she watched Warrington pull the golden snitch out of the box. He released it and counted to twenty, then blew the whistle signaling them to begin.

Lily shot upward and started circling the pitch. Remembering her father's advice she made sure to procure a clear vantage point. She noticed Warrington begin trying out the chasers below, probably trying to simulate the chaos of a real game. She briefly wondered if Scor was doing well before a glint of gold caught her eye. She shot off toward the other side of the field, but a well aimed bludger (stupid Warrington) made her change paths, and she lost sight of the tiny ball. She circled down closer to the other players staying clear of the beaters trying out and noticed a hint of gold near the ground by one of the tall hoops. Trying to avoid drawing attention to herself, she circled lower hoping to give the impression of still searching, but to her shock Thomas had noticed the golden ball.

He tore off along the ground just as she went into a steep dive. He was closer, but she could feel herself gaining momentum. The snitch loomed ever closer like a magnet drawing her in. She could see Thomas closing in from the corner of her eye. She stretched her hand out in front of her anticipating the feel of the cold metal. _Almost there! Almost there!_ The whole world seemed to disappear and then a shadow obscured the golden light, her hand closed on vapor, and a great expanse of green replaced the gold. She pulled up on the broom handle as hard as she could tumbling onto the ground several feet from the broom facing the traitorous blue sky.

Cheers and shouts rose up around her. She moved her head a bit and saw from a distance, the group of boys hoisting Thomas onto their shoulders. She turned away, tears already prickling at the back of her eyelids. A shadow fell over her face.

"It was a nice try anyway." Scorpius stood holding his hand out to her, but she didn't take it. Lily rolled onto her side and pushed herself to a sitting position. A few tears escaped their bonds and went cascading down her cheeks, meeting their end with a swift swipe of Lily's hand. She wanted to melt into the ground, to hide, to be alone. "Come on, it's not that bad. That was some excellent flying, for a girl." But Scorpius had said the wrong thing. Tears now flowing in earnest, she ran, putting as much distance between herself and the pitch as possible, thinking of one who would comfort her in her humiliation, one who would not berate her for her gender, one who would understand. _Tom._


	10. Achey, Breaky Heart

**A/N: This chapter was extremely hard to write. I'm still not sure if I like it at all. Hopefully the next few will be better. Once again I appreciated all those who have taken the time to review repeatedly. You have encouraged me to keep this story going. Well, here we go, hang on tight!**

Scorpius stood on the Quiddich pitch watching Lily grow smaller and smaller as she neared the doors to the castle. Laughter and cheers still echoed around him. He walked over to where his Firebolt Series 7 lay and picked it up, carefully inspecting it for any sign of damage. The golden scorpion engraved on the handle glittered in the sun.

Some of the boys' comments filtered through his muddied thoughts causing him to clutch the broom tightly.

"Did you see her? Almost flattened herself!" Warrington laughed.

"Yes, but the fact is she didn't!" Scorpius spoke in a carrying voice, anger welling up inside him. Silence replaced the laughter and jeers. "She pulled out of a dive I'm sure not one of you could have done, and she was seconds away from the snitch."

"He's right," Thomas spoke up from the middle of the group of boys staring at Scorpius. "I felt her hand brush my robes. It was very close."

No one laughed. The group of boys all looked at Scorpius as though expecting him to continue so he obliged. "Truth is she's a brilliant flier. You're all mental if you don't let her on the team. I know fifth years that can't fly like that!"

Several of the boys looked at the captain in question. His snarl had disappeared and he was rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, perhaps we could make her a reserve."

"A reserve!" Scorpius turned away in disgust then changed his mind. "You won't let her play because she's a girl? What makes you any different from Voldemort?" Scorpius adopted the high pitched hiss his father used when telling him stories of the Dark Lord. "We are wizards! We are superior! Purebloods should rule the world!" He resumed his normal tone. "But that's not exclusive enough for you, is it? Why don't we all dress up in dark cloaks and go around killing girls now! Nobel Slytherins, what rot! The lot of you are nothing but a bunch of pompous, arrogant, prats!" With that he turned on his heel and stomped off to the castle. He knew he had given up any chance of being on the team himself, but he didn't care. Anger continued to boil up inside him.

He thought of his father and grandfather always going on about how much "better" Malfoy's were than other wizards, how everyone "respected the Malfoy name." What rot. _They don't respect us, they hate us. _He remembered walking through Diagon Alley with his father on his eighth birthday. That was the day his father bought him his broom.

"_Are we almost there Dad?"_

"_Yes, Scorpius, be patient."_

_A woman walking toward them holding hands with a brown-haired boy his age looked up at his father and moved to the opposite side of the alley. Scorpius looked at the boy as they passed._

"_Don't look at them, Clarence."_

"_Why, Mummy?" the boy turned away from Scorpius._

"_They're Death Eaters."_

Death Eaters—yes he had known what Death Eater were. His grandfather's stories of their "escapades" had given him nightmares most of his young life.

He looked for Lily in the common room. Alexis sat in a black leather chair reading her Charms textbook.

"Have you seen Lily?"

"Lost her, have you?"

"Is she in her room?"

"I wouldn't know. I try not to notice the filth on that side of the room."

Scorpius put his hands on the arms of the chair and leaned over to glare into the blond girl's eyes.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, Vaisey. Where is Lily?" He could see the girl shaking.

"She hasn't come in. I've been here for the past few hours and she hasn't come in." He pushed off the chair and walked out of the dungeon to go check the library. Lily did not show up to dinner that night, and no matter how hard he looked he could not find her the next day either.

"I'm sure she's fine, mate." Zabini tried to cheer him up as he pushed the food around his plate wondering when Lily had last eaten. "She'll have to be in classes tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess." He couldn't explain to Zabini or himself for that matter, how much of a loss it was not getting to see her. He forced himself to take heart. He would see her tomorrow; he could talk to her then.

It turned out that this didn't go according to plan either. Lily managed to avoid him between classes and once again she failed to show up to breakfast and lunch. In Charms, he passed Albus a note asking if he had spoken to her. His response was one word. _Yes. _

That night Scorpius tiptoed into the common room and curled up in a leather armchair in the corner. Alexis had told him Lily wasn't in her room and he was determined to catch her when she came in. About a quarter to one, just when his eyelids were starting to droop, he heard the sound of footsteps moving across the room.

"Lily?" The footstep stopped. He scanned the room eerily lit by the green light. "I know you're there. Can I just talk to you?"

He heard some movement in a corner and she stepped out of the darkness. Her eyes were red and puffy and he saw the tear tracks on her cheeks. She stood waiting for him to speak and she pulled a loose strand of tousled red hair through her fingers.

"Are you alright?" He berated himself for asking such an obvious question. "You weren't at dinner or lunch _or_ breakfast. Aren't you hungry?"

"Not really," her voice sounded small and muffled as though she spoke through water.

"Don't let them get you down. You could get them back," he tried hoping to see some spark of her former fire. She shrugged. "Come on, I could help you! We could put itching powder in their pants right before the game!" He saw the slightest trace of a grin flit across her face. He stood up and moved closer to her encouraged by the brief flitter of fire. "So, what do you say?"

"I…" She pulled harder at the strand of hair. "I just…not now, Scor. Perhaps later. I just…need some rest," and she turned and disappeared into the girl's dorm.

Things didn't improve in the weeks remaining until Christmas holidays. Lily continued to keep to herself. Although she did show up for meals, she rarely said anything and seemed in a hurry to leave. He experienced a vindictive thrill when the Slytherin team was flattened by Hufflepuff in the first game. Although Thomas caught the snitch, the Hufflepuff team had scored so many goals, the Slytherins were muttering accusations of Hufflepuff confunding their keeper. Whatever joy it gave him was lessened, however, by the fact that Lily was not there to gloat with him.

Finally, the day came for them all to return home for a well earned rest. Scorpius watched Lily greet her family, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. He felt an ache of longing he tried desperately to push away. He felt his father's stare and ignored the question in Draco's eyes. Scopius's eyes followed Lily as she trailed along behind her family through the barrier, and he resolved to do something to cheer her up. Walking down the platform beside a concerned-looking Draco, Scorpius Malfoy wondered what sort of Christmas gift he should get for Lily Potter.


	11. My Heart Got Runned Over by a Reindeer

Lily sat on her sleigh bed in her room staring out the window truly happy for the first time in months. She heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." James came in and sat down at the end of her bed.

"You okay?"

"Great! It's so nice being home."

"Well you certainly _look_ happier. Al and I were really worried you know."

"Why?"

"You haven't been acting like yourself, Lily. I mean you just seem so…depressed."

"I know. These last few weeks it's just been hard to think…positively. I mean, even when nothing is going wrong I just feel…alone."

"Well, you know Al and I are always here, but if it's going to be girly stuff I'd prefer you talk to Rose." Lily laughed.

"Thanks Mum." She gave him a big bear hug. "I'm going to go find Dad."

"Okay, if you're up for a game of chess later let me know."

"Okay." She jumped off the bed and headed down the stairs. Her Dad sat reading the newspaper on the sofa. Sitting down next to him and laying her head against his arm, she waited patiently until he put the paper down and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Dad."

"Yes, Lils."

"Have you ever….done anything really…stupid…that made everyone hate you or make fun of you?"

"I have--several times, in fact."

"How did you get through it?"

"Well, mostly by realizing it didn't matter what they all thought of me. Ron and Hermione were always there for me as well. That helped."

"And Mum?"

"Yes, and Mum."

"Daddy, did you fancy Mum when you first met her?" Harry squirmed in his seat.

"Um, well….actually I was pretty thick about the whole thing. Didn't realize how I felt about her until sixth year."

"Sixth year! Well, then I suppose there's still some hope for me."

"Don't tell me you've already found some bloke to fancy?"

"Dad!" she pushed him with her shoulder. "He's not 'some bloke.' His name is Sharpe and he's really nice."

"Sharpe! Poor kid. Mum must not have liked him too much. Kinda like that poor Scorpius kid."

"Scor's sweet, Dad! His name isn't all _that_ bad. Besides, he's a great guy and one of my best friends."

Harry laughed, holding up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay! I'm sure he's a Prince."

"Well, a bit of an annoying one at times, but yes." She smiled thinking of how hard Scor had tried to cheer her up the past few weeks. A twinge of guilt pricked her conscience. _Perhaps I should make it up to him somehow?_

The next day Lily talked her parents into taking them to Diagon Alley. Lily had decided to get Scor and Sharpe presents as well as her brothers and cousins. Diagon Alley was crowded with frantic Holiday shoppers looking for gifts. Snow drifted past settling on the shop rooftops giving them a festive look. Bright lights and decorations adorned the shop windows. Lily clapped her mittened hands together. Harry took James and Albus to "look at Quidditch supplies" somewhere in the direction of the jewelry store while Lily and Ginny headed off toward Uncle George's shop.

Lily always loved going to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. There were so many things to look at and Uncle George always gave her a little "something extra." After her Mum had finished greeting him and gone off to look for last minute gifts for James and Al, Uncle George took Lily aside and showed her a small box.

"What is it?" Uncle George's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Open it."

She lifted the lid and stared in awe at two identical silver rings. "They're Body Swappers. They allow you to switch places with another person for one day. We were working on them before he died."

Lily fingered one of the silver rings trying not to notice the change in her Uncle's mood.

"They sound excellent"

"I thought they might come in handy for you. James said one of your roommates was bothering you a bit. Perhaps these would help you teach her a lesson!" Lily looked at the rings, devious thoughts coming to her mind.

They arrived home later that evening exhausted but cheerful. She took her gifts up to her room to wrap. She had bought Sharpe a pot of ever-blooming Christmas roses because Scor had said Zabini liked roses. Scor's present had taken longer to decide on. Eventually, she had chosen a Basic Blaze box of Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-bangs and a set of two-way mirrors Uncle George had told her were patterned after the ones her grandfather and Sirius Black used as boys. After wrapping both boys' gifts and sending them with the family owl, Cissaro, she went downstairs to join the others in hot-cocoa and carols.

Lily woke up early Christmas morning. She shrugged out of her sleeping bag and tried not to step on any of her cousins as she made her way to the tree. A hand clasped her ankle.

"I don't think so Lil." Teddy's tousled aqua head rose up out of the sea of sleeping bags.

"Awww come on Teddy, just one!"

"Nope, you have to suffer just like the rest of us." He smiled as he rolled up his sleeping bag and deposited it in the corner. They made their way to the kitchen and Teddy started making coffee with a wave of his wand. She loved coming to the burrow for Christmas although it was a bit crowded with so many cousins. Grandad Weasley always had some new muggle device to show them, Grandmum Weasley always had plenty of delicious food to feed them, and her cousins always kept her busy playing chess or Quidditch. She wondered if all families were as big and boisterous at Christmas time as her own. She thought of Scor and Sharpe and decided probably not.

"Teddy, when did you and Victoire start going out?"

"Her seventh year, why?"

"Just wondering." She looked out of the frosted window.

"You got your eye on someone?"

"Maybe."

"Well, let me know who he is so I can go break his neck."

"Teddy!"

"I can't have anyone stealing away my little sister's heart, now can I?"

"Don't worry. I don't think he _wants _to steal my heart."

"That way is it?"

"Yeah, I don't think he notices me at all."

"Well, don't worry about it. You've got plenty of time for blokes later."

"I guess."

Other tousled heads started making their way into the kitchen for coffee. Victoire went over and kissed Teddy on the cheek before helping Grandmum Weasley start breakfast. Lily sighed dreamily thinking of Teddy and Victoire's upcoming wedding. She wondered if anyone would ever feel that way about her.

After everyone was full of eggs, bacon, and toast, they all gathered around the tree and Granddad Weasley started passing out parcels. Lily soon had a pile of gifts and wrappings surrounding her. A knitted sweater from Grandmum Weasley, a box of DVD's Granddad Weasley had magicked a little screen onto that played the movies when you tapped them, lots of candy from her cousins, and a set of Smart Answer quills were among the pile of loot. Soon the tree sat barren in the corner and everyone around it was laughing, showing off gifts and sharing candy. Granddad Weasley appeared from behind the tree carrying a small box wrapped in green paper.

"Here's another for you, Lily. Must have gotten pushed to the back." She took the box and held it in her hands, butterflies swirling in her stomach. She had already opened all the gifts from her family. She tore off the wrapper and lifted the lid of the velvet box. She gasped when she saw what lay inside.

"Wow Lily, who gave you that?" Hugo leaned over to get a better look at Lily's newest acquisition. She held it up light glittering off of it. As it turned, she saw an engraved scorpion on the back, the sharp point of its tail raised high, and thought _perhaps Sharpe has noticed me after all. _


	12. Shot to the Heart

**A/N: Thanks for all those reviews. Keep 'em coming.**

Scorpius Malfoy sat in the dimly lit family room at Malfoy manor wishing he was somewhere else. The tree sitting in the corner surrounded by ornately wrapped gifts, the crackling fire in the expansive fireplace, the smell of Christmas dinner wafting in from the dining room, could not distract him from thoughts of Lily. He wondered how she would react to his gift. Catching his father's look from beside the tree, he thought back to his trip to Diagon Alley.

"_Why is it so important that we go to Diagon Alley _today_ Scorpius? You've already bought presents for everyone."_

"_Not _everyone_."_

"_Oh?" Draco pierced him with another questioning look._

"_Here it is Dad." He led Draco into the magical jewelry shop and headed to the nearest glass case. He scanned the collection earrings, necklaces, and bracelets all imbued with magical properties to enhance the beauty of the wearer, confound the observer, or guard the hearts of lovers. An old man moved up beside the case. He looked down at Scorpius with a sneer._

"_Your mum has plenty of jewelry, Scorpius."_

"_It's not for Mum." Draco's eyebrow rose higher._

"_Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" Scorpius dismissed the man's distain in his eagerness to find Lily the perfect gift._

"_Yes, I'm looking for something special for a girl. Something…to…make her happy," he ended, not sure if this description was adequate enough. The shopkeeper lifted an eyebrow at this. "She's been unhappy lately and I want something to cheer her up." He felt his father's stare but pushed the inevitable confrontation aside for the moment. _

_The shopkeeper eyed him quizzically for several moments and then said with much less frigidness, "I think I have exactly what you are looking for." He led him to a case in the back of the store. Displayed on a velvet pillow surrounded by rings and bracelets lay a simply set opal pendant. Scorpius read on the card above it:_

_The Patronus Pendant-_

_Imbued with the powers of a patronus_

_This pendant amplifies the happy_

_Thoughts of the wearer, thereby_

_Protecting them from despair._

_1,000 galleons_

"_This is it! That's the one." Scorpius turned to Draco who stood over his shoulder looking at the pendant. _

"_Scorpius, that pendant is 1,000 galleons! That's all your savings from last year! I can't let you waste money like this."_

"_I'll work again this summer. I have to have it. It's exactly what she needs."_

"_What who needs? Are you even going to tell me who you're emptying your vault for?"_

"_Lily." He waited for the tidal wave to crash over him as his father paled._

"_Lily?" The catch in his father's voice would have amused him normally, "You don't mean Lily as in Potter's girl?" He noticed the pleading in his father's voice. Scorpius squared his shoulders and looked the man in the eye realizing what might come next._

"_Yes, I do." Draco seemed to shrink, but the shopkeeper who had observed this exchange cleared his throat interrupting the barrage of threats Scorpius was sure would follow._

"_I can let you have the pendant for 700 galleons." He noticed the soft look that had replaced the haughty one on the shopkeeper's face. Scorpius nodded his head before Draco could respond._

"_How much more would it cost to engrave a scorpion on the back?"_

"_Ten galleons." Scorpius nodded again. "Would you like me to send it to the lady?"_

"_Yes please." He scribbled Lily's name down on a scrap of parchment the shopkeeper handed him._

"_Would you like to include a note?"_

"_No, she'll know it's from me." Draco dropped a bag of galleons on the counter and they both left the shop in silence. "You can take the money out of my vault."_

"_Yes." Draco mumbled._

_They headed to the Leaky Cauldron, but his father did not lead him to the fireplace as he expected. Instead he took a seat in the corner of the pub and ordered two butterbeers._

"_So, you…fancy Potter—I mean Lily?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Does she…um…feel the same?" He watched his father tug at his collar as though he couldn't breathe properly._

"_I don't know yet."_

"_Bit young isn't she?"  
_

"_She's a first year. I'm not much older than her, though."_

"_No, no that's true. What about Potter…I mean…how do you think her father will feel about a Malfoy fancying his daughter?"_

"_I don't expect he'll care much."_

"_He hates us!"_

"_He hates you! What have I ever done to him?" Draco slumped back in his chair and Scorpius saw several people turn to look at them oddly. He wanted to feel sorry for his father, but for some reason he couldn't. He couldn't understand why his dad couldn't be happy that he had found someone as wonderful as Lily to care for. _

"_Scorpius, I just don't want to see you hurt." _

His thoughts were brought back to the present as his father handed him another parcel that he barely registered as the broomstick servicing kit he had been asking for before adding it to the pile beside him. _He doesn't want to see me hurt. _Scorpius thought briefly of how he would feel if Lily rejected his gift. The idea discomfited him. The next gift passed to him caught his attention. The wrapping wasn't the typical posh style of the previous gifts. This one wore brightly colored paper with a matching bow. He tore into it eagerly and found to his delight that it came from Lily.

"What is that?" His grandfather looked at the package of Whiz-bangs with a haughty sneer.

"Fireworks! Want to see?" He started to open the package to demonstrate only to be stopped by a harsh glare from his father's direction. He pulled out the other rectangular object and saw it was a small mirror. He turned it over in his hand wondering why Lily would send him a mirror. The note in the bottom of the box caught his attention. Unfolding it he read:

_Dear Scor,_

_I can't tell you how much I've appreciated you these last few weeks at school. You really are my best friend and I thought as such you might enjoy these. My grandfather and his best friend had a pair and they used them to talk to each other when they were in separate detentions. I hope you like them. Maybe we can talk to each other later today. All you have to do is say my name. _

_Love,_

_Lily_

He read the letter twice more lingering on the word love before finally folding it up and slipping it into his pocket to read again later. He stared down at the mirror itching to try it out but wanting to be alone when he did.

"What is that Scorpius?" His mother looked curiously at the mirror.

"A mirror."

"A _mirror! _Why would anyone send you a mirror? Malfoy manor is full of mirrors."

_Not like this one_, he thought. "I'm going to take my gifts up to my room." He picked up all his presents and carried them up the grandiose staircase to his bedroom. He couldn't wait to talk to Lily.

Scor dumped all his gifts except the mirror onto the end of his bed. He pushed his pillow against the headboard and leaned back against it. He looked down at the mirror.

"Lily," he whispered. He knew it wasn't "later today" but he was too anxious to see her face to care. Red hair flashed in the mirror and then he saw her brown eyes. His heart started pounding.

"Scor! How are you? Did you get my gift? Did you like it? Look at the lovely gift Shape got me."

He felt his stomach drop as the Opal pendant, _his pendant_, came into view.

"Uh…Lily…"

"Isn't it amazing! I thought he didn't notice me at all!"

"Uh…"

"I can't wait to thank him."

"Uh…"

"What else did you get for Christmas?"

"Oh…nothing special," he mumbled, "listen I'd better go. I just wanted to say thanks."

"Oh…okay. Well Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas." He laid the mirror on his bedside table and buried his head in his pillow. _Happy Christmas indeed._


	13. Hooked On You

**A/N: This chapter is not as long as the last few, but in order to keep to the POV switch, it's necessary. To make up for it, I'm posting the next one at the same time. I want to thank all of you who have reviewed. Please keep doing so. They really make my day!**

Lily practically skipped out of the common room and down the corridor. She couldn't explain the sense of euphoria she felt at being back at Hogwarts. All her classes were more interesting, her roommates were less troublesome, and her spirits were higher than a kite. The smile on her face seemed content to stay there forever and would not give way to any other expression even for a moment.

She laid her hand over her pendant, its warmth radiating through her skin. She couldn't wait to thank Sharpe for the gift that had made her so inexplicably happy. It wasn't until after lunch that she saw him in the hall outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom talking to a group of boys.

"Sharpe!" He turned at the sound of her voice, and she registered briefly the lack of flutters in her stomach wondering at it.

"Hey Sharpe, we'll catch you up later," one of the boys said.

"Okay, see you later." The boys walked off down the hall. "Hey, Lils, what can I do for you?"

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"I just wanted to thank you for the gift." She held up the opal and noticed Sharpe's look of confusion.

"Who told you I…"

"Oh, Scorpius did, but I had figured it out before that. I mean the point on the tail…" She turned the pendant over so he could see the glittering scorpion on the back.

"And Scorpius…told you…that _I _bought that?"

"Oh, don't be mad at him. He didn't really tell. He just confirmed my suspicions."

"Uh—huh."

"But anyway, thanks, it's lovely."

"Uh…yeah." She turned away and hurried off down the hall, leaving Sharpe looking stricken.

In potions class Rebecca kept mimicking a broom crashing with her hand and laughing, but Lily hardly noticed. Her Forgetfulness Potion turned out perfectly according to Professor Vonce. She picked up her bag and headed to her next class wondering for the first time that day why she hadn't seen Scor.

She dropped her bag on a table in the back of the library where she planned to look up the effects of a potion Professor Vonce had told them to write an essay on. She took out her mirror and whispered, "Scor." She had to wait several minutes before his grey eyes appeared in the mirror.

"Hey Lily."

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day?"

"Sorry…classes are keeping me busy."

"Are you okay? You look sick."

"I'm fine."

"Why don't you come to the library and we can study together before dinner."

"Um…I'm sorry…I can't…Matilda and I are going to study."

"Oh." Lily tried to cover her disappointment. "Okay, I'll see you at dinner then."

"Okay." The mirror darkened. _Why did he seem so sad?_

She took her usual place next to Scor at the Slytherin table. The same empty grey look she had seen in the mirror paled his features now as well.

"Scor, what's wrong?" He stared at a spot somewhere across the room. She hated seeing him so miserable. The boy that had done so much to cheer her up before Christmas looked as though his best friend had died. Her heart ached for him.

"Nothing," he said. She looked down at his plate. He hadn't put any food on it, but he pushed his fork around as though there were something to push. She dipped him some mashed potatoes, peas, and roast only to be rewarded with a sad little smile.

Sharpe glared at him from across the table. _They must have had a row. _She wished she hadn't said anything to Sharpe about the necklace now. Scor was upset and it was all her fault for opening her mouth. Why did Sharpe have to be angry at Scor? _He didn't do anything wrong!_ She rubbed circles on Scor's back in what she hoped was the same soothing manner her mother used on her and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Please don't be upset," she whispered so that Sharpe couldn't hear. He moved to stand up and she had to right herself quickly.

"Scor?"

"I'm going to bed. I…I'm not hungry," and with that he walked out of the Great Hall leaving Lily feeling both confused and concerned.

She glared across the table at Sharpe. She took several rolls and wrapped them in a napkin then walked off to find her friend. He wasn't in the common room so she knocked on the door to his dorm.

"Scor?" She tried turning the handle but it was locked. "Scor, it's me Lily. I brought you some rolls. Please come out."

After several minutes she decided he must have gone somewhere else. She took out her mirror and called his name several times, but the mirror remained dark. She finally admitted defeat when the other Slytherins started coming back from dinner. She went to her room and sat on her four-poster wondering what she could do to cheer her friend up.

As she lay on her bed listening to her roommates chatter, she thought of James's invisibility cloak lying in the bottom of her trunk. She had never given it back after she had borrowed it to sneak out to see Tom. _Perhaps I should sneak over and visit Scor tonight, _and she remembered something else in her trunk that was sure to cheer him up.


	14. Burning Heart

**A/N: Please don't throw anything ducks behind the sofa. It has to get worse before it gets better. Trust me it will get better. Thanks for reviews. **

"Why did you tell her I gave her that necklace!" Scorpius looked up to see Sharpe trying to kill him with a look. "Why didn't you tell her you bought it?"

"She didn't ask. She just said, 'Look at the lovely gift Sharpe got me.' She was so happy. I couldn't ruin it for her."

"She's going to find out! I'm going right now and tell her!"

"No! Please Sharpe, just let it go. She fancies you, not me. What does it matter who she thinks bought it?" Sharpe dropped onto the bed.

"Scor, she's eleven. She doesn't even _know _me. She's only talked to me a few times, but she spends most of her time with you. Besides you know I fancy Rose."

"Yes."

"It's obvious Lily cares for you more than she realizes. Those glares she was shooting my direction at dinner prove that."

"As a friend." Scorpius thought of her rubbing his back and her head on his shoulder. She couldn't know how much it had both thrilled and tormented him.

"Yes, as a friend. Friendship is a better start to a relationship than a silly crush. Seven years is a long time. She'll change her mind."

"So I guess you and Rose are the best of friends then, eh? That's why you fancy her?"

"Actually…yes. She's been tutoring me in potions and we just sort of started talking afterwards and I realized I like her." Scorpius envied the smile on Sharpe's face.

"I'm going to bed." Scorpius turned over away from Sharpe, but did not close his eyes.

"Just don't give up on her yet, mate. She fancies you, I'm sure of it. It just might take her a few years to realize it."

"Goodnight." He heard Zabini walk over and put out the lights and climb into his bed. He thought about what Zabini had said and what his father had told him. "I don't want to see you hurt."His Dad had been right. _Why would Lily Potter ever fancy me?_

Lily was sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around him, her head lying on his shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered. He pulled her closer to him and whispered, "I love you too," in return. He watched a strawberry blond-haired boy and girl play on the floor together. He and Lily laughed when the boy tried to give his sister "kisses" and she kept pulling away. Then the scene changed and Voldemort and Lucius were dragging Lily into a boat. The boat sped toward an island where they pulled her out and cast spells on her encasing her in what appeared to be a watery dome.

"This will teach you to grasp for one above your station," Lucius snarled.

"Scor! Help me! Scor…Scor…Scor…"

He woke with a start and decided he must be hallucinating because a robe-clad Lily stood next to his bed calling his name gently shaking him.

"Lily? What are you doing here?" He looked over at the other boys' beds but snores still issued from them. He sat up and moved back to lean against the headboard. Lily jumped up on the bed and sat facing him, a box in her hands.

"I'm here to cheer you up!" She smiled widely and he couldn't help but snicker.

"At two in the morning?"

"Well, I had to wait until Rebecca finished telling Alexis about meeting Warrington in the broom cupboard." She giggled.

"I don't want to know." Scorpius watched her bounce on his bed enthusiastically and couldn't help being cheered a bit. She had stayed up late and snuck into his room just to cheer him up. Maybe Zabini was right. His heart gave a hopeful little twitch.

"Look Scor," she handed him the box. He opened it and saw two silver rings. "They're Body Swappers. Uncle George gave them to me."

"What are they for?"

"Switching places with someone," she bounced again. "Just for a day though. I was going to use them on Rebecca but this will be much more fun."

Scorpius looked up at her mischievous smile with trepidation.

"What will?"

"Us switch places!"

"You and me?"

"Yes!"

Scorpius held his finger up over his lips to silence her. With each exclamation she became more animated. Her smile grew and her eyes sparkled even more.

"I don't know Lily…"

"Oh come on, it will be brilliant! I can prank the Quidditch team and you can get away from Sharpe."

"Sharpe?"

"Yes, then you won't have to deal with him rowing at you about telling." She frowned in the direction of Sharpe's bed.

"Telling?"

"About the pendant."

"Oh." Her smile was becoming infectious.

"Come on, it'll be great!"

"Well…"

"Here you take this one." She took his hand and pressed the silver ring into his palm closing his fingers over it afterwards. "We'll change tomorrow before classes."

He looked down where she held his hand between hers. He wondered if she felt the same warmth he did.

"Thanks Lily."

"What are friends for?" She smiled and leaned over wrapping her arms around his neck. Her hair smelled of strawberries and he had an insane desire to be drowned in strawberries and cream. He patted her on the back not trusting himself to hold her for fear of not being able to let her go. She finally pulled away and took his hand again.

"Scor."

"Yeah?"

"Please don't hide from me. I can't stand it when you won't talk to me." He looked into her brown eyes and realized that no matter how long he had to wait, he would never be able to give up on Lily.

"I won't…ever again."

She bounced on her knees again and leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"See you tomorrow!" She whispered as she bounced off the bed and hurried into the shadows. He heard the door creak as she left, his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest and his cheek still burning where her lips had just touched it.


	15. Scratch Out Hope

Lily hurried into the common room after all her roommates had left for breakfast. Scorpius was sitting in his usual leather armchair waiting.

"Hi." Butterflies tickled her stomach when he smiled up at her. "Do you have your ring?"

In answer, he held out his hand and she saw the ring sitting on his palm as though it hadn't moved from the previous night.

"I'm not sure about this, Lily. I mean do you really _want _to be me?"

"Sure!" she bounced on her heels. "It'll be a whole new perspective!"

"To say the least," he mumbled.

"Let's put them on now." She looked around the common room for stragglers. Seeing they were alone, she held her ring out in front of her. Scorpius stood to face her and she noticed how much taller he was. They slipped the rings on their middle finger at the same time. The effect was instantaneous. With a small pop she stood looking down at herself. She wondered if Scorpius felt awkward being so tall. She reached up and lifted the pendant over Scor's head. Putting the necklace around her own neck seemed surreal.

"No one will believe it's me if you don't have it." He looked down at the pendant and then pushed some red hair out of his face.

"How do you _stand _this stuff?" She laughed marveling at the sound.

"Okay, so we'll meet back here before dinner."

"Yes."

"Oh and since I'm going to the Quidditch pitch would it be alright if I borrowed your broom?"

"Sure, it's under my bed."

"Thanks." She bounced on Scorpius's heels, but seeing her own raised eyebrows, she stopped immediately and tried to behave more _Scorpius like._ "Well, good luck!" and hugging herself quickly, she rushed out of the room once again experiencing the sensation of little tingles in her stomach.

She hadn't realized, until she was sitting in Scorpius's first class, what a disadvantage she had put herself in. While Scorpius already knew everything the first years were studying and would probably make her look really good, she kept tripping over his feet and embarrassing him by not being able to perform _any _of the third-year spells. If it hadn't been for an extremely adept potion's partner, she would have earned Scorpius a T on his Shrinking Solution.

Sitting in Charms next to her brother Al was also an odd experience. If felt strange not having to look up at him for once not to mention that Al didn't use his patronizing voice when talking to Scor.

"Nice necklace." Al said when he sat down. Lily instinctively reached for her pendant before remembering she had given it to Scor. Scor didn't wear a necklace, did he? Not wanting to give herself away to her brother Lily muttered a, "thanks," still wondering what he could be talking about. Al didn't seem to feel the need to elaborate, however, and so the rest of the class passed without any more being said about the "necklace."

By lunch she could tell part of her plan had worked. Scor looked much more cheerful though she wasn't sure if it was because he was wearing her face or not. She took her seat in Scor's Transfiguration class, glad that she had helped her friend but feeling a little down herself for some unknown reason.

She tried to shake off her melancholy when a rap to the back of her (actually Scor's) head made her turn around.

"Malfoy, when are you going to stop slumming with the 'Goody Gryffindors'?" She felt her heartbeat increase. Was Scor teased for spending time with her?

"As soon as _you_ learn some manners, Vaisey, hmmm let me see, that will be…never."

"Yeah I forgot," the boy put on a simpering face, "you're in wuv."

"Shut up, Vaisey."

"Can't wait to see what Granddaddy thinks of your girlfriend, Malfoy."

Lily turned back to the front as Professor Finnegan started class wondering about what Vaisey had said. She had never thought of what Scor might have to endure to be her friend.

When Transfiguration finally ended she made her way to the dungeons with less enthusiasm than she had started the day with. She walked into Scor's room and dropped to her knees next to his bed to retrieve the broom. As she pulled the broom out from under the bed her hand brushed against something. She pulled the object out with the broom. It appeared to be a wooden jewelry box. She sat it on the bed and leaned closer absentmindedly enjoying the spicy scent lingering on Scor's bedsheets. Knowing she probably shouldn't, she opened the lid of the box and saw an assortment of items: a picture of Scor's mum and dad standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, an old snitch that waved its wings feebly, a silver pocket knife, and her hair tie. She lifted the piece of leather that seemed so out of place amongst these treasures. _He kept it? _She heard some of the boys coming toward the room and quickly returned the tie and closed the box shoving it back under the bed just as the door opened.

She hurried down to the Quidditch pitch long before any of the boys appeared and stole into the locker rooms. She took the Jock-itch Powder she had purchased from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and sprinkled a generous amount on each boy's Quidditch uniform. She wondered at her lack of excitement. The elation she normally felt when pranking was absent. _Why am I even here? _She left the locker rooms and mounted the sleek broom kicking off just as Thomas came into view. She felt the engraving on the broom handle. This was the broom that she had ridden at the Quidditch tryouts. Scor had let her use his broom.

She watched as the team members made their way to the pitch and entered the locker room. Scor had done so much for her. She looked down at her hands, _his hands_. Each boy started jerking crazily on his broom, falling like a shooting star onto the grass in a convulsive heap. She had never noticed how strong his hands were, how long and thin his fingers. She flew over the greenhouses and landed in a small courtyard. She reached up and pushed a lock of blond hair out of her face, _his face_. For some reason she felt a weight settling in her heart as she made her way to Scor's room to return his broom. She pushed the door open and saw Sharpe folding a piece of parchment.

"Hey Scor."

"Hey, what's up?" Lily hoped she sounded convincing enough. Fooling Sharpe would be hardest. She started across the room to Scor's bed.

"I decided to tell Rose I fancy her. We've been talking for months now and I really think she likes me too. I wrote her a note. What do you think?"

Lily stood in Scorpius's shoes frozen in shock. For a moment she couldn't breathe. Time completely stopped. _Rose? He likes Rose?_ She remembered her conversation with Scor before Christmas.

"_Zabini likes roses."_ He hadn't said roses, he had said Rose! Darkness seemed to close in around her.

"Scor?" She looked at the dark handsome boy.

"Um…sure…" She barely registered the words she spoke, she barely registered her surroundings as she turned to leave, she barely registered Scor's body as she bumped into the door frame.

"Scor, you alright mate?"

"Yeah…fine."

She managed to make it to the common room where her body stood looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Walking past, she shoved the broom at herself and wandered toward the stone wall.

"Lily?" Her own voice called, but she ignored it walking out the door and down the hall to the place she knew she had to go, to Tom. She pulled the ring off as she walked and felt it slide out of her fingers, making a tinkling sound as it hit the cold stone. Her legs shrank, her hair grew, but her steps continued toward the old attic room, and as she slipped into the room and past the veil that hid Tom from view she felt the despair close around her dowsing the last bit of hope, the last ray of sunshine, the last breath of happiness.


	16. Drowning My Sorrows

The hollow look in his own eyes scared Scorpius. He held his broom and watched himself walk out of the common room. Turning to follow, he heard Sharpe call his name from the doorway. He turned to the black boy standing just outside the door to their room.

"What did you say to her?" Sharpe turned from looking at the wall.

"You mean _him_ don't you?" Scor marched across the room and grabbed Zabini by the front of his robes.

"Tell me what you said to her!"

"Whoa, Lily calm down!" A pop echoed through the room and Sharpe's eyebrows shot up as Scorpius felt himself grow taller and his hair shrink back into his head.

"Scor?"

"Just tell me what you said." Sharpe looked at him in awe.

"I was just talking about Rose, and telling you…her that I was going to give Rose a note."

"A note?"

"Yeah, to tell her I like her." Scorpius pushed the broom into Sharpe's hand and headed off after Lily. The pendant bounced on his chest as he made his way down the hall. He knew Lily had taken the news badly. He had hoped that maybe her feelings for Sharpe were waning a bit, but the look on her face as she left said it all, but was that truly the problem? Each time he had seen her (himself) today, she had seemed more depressed. He had thought it was just the change in facial features at first, but by lunch the change was noticeable not only in her expression but also in her speech. He needed to get the pendant back to her.

He looked all around the castle wondering where she had gone to hide. As he headed down the staircase to the entrance hall he passed Hugo.

"Hey, Weasley, have you seen Lily?"

"No. Have you checked that attic room?"

"Attic room?"

"Yeah, the one she studies in at the end of the History of Magic corridor."

"No, I'll go check there now, thanks."

He headed back up the stairs and hurried down the hall to the dark corridor. The narrow stair gave him chills as he climbed, finally reaching the landing. He pushed the door open and muttered "lumos".

"Lily."

A pale figure passed through a moth eaten cloth at the back of the room. No one needed to tell him who it was. His grandfather had described the terror that was Lord Voldemort in great detail. This was a figure from his childhood nightmares.

"Where is she?"

"Well, well, well…not who I was expecting to come to the rescue of the _Littlest Potter._ Another little Draco, is it?"

"WHERE IS SHE!"

"Probably visiting the mermaids by now. You're too late little Malfoy," but Scorpius wasn't listening. He ran as fast as he could down the hall. The halls seemed to stretch ahead endlessly. His heart raced frantically. _She's alright. She can't be dead. _Students headed to dinner raised their eyebrows as he passed. He saw Hugo walking ahead of him with some friends.

"Hugo! Get Potter…Lily's in trouble!"

"What!"

"Just do it! The lake!" and he pushed past him and ran to the doors. He didn't stop running until he had reached the lake where he splashed through the icy water until it reached his waste and then dove down holding his wand, still lit, in front of him. Further and further down into the murky silence he swam feeling the pressure increase. The cold water made his limbs feel like they were on fire. He pushed aside some stringy water plants and saw her red hair swaying all around her. A grindylow held fast to her ankle. He wrenched the creature's hand away, easily breaking its brittle fingers. He wrapped his arm around Lily's waist and kicked toward the surface, digging his way through the water toward life. He felt the grindylow trying to grab his ankle, but he kicked hard and hit the water demon in the face. Kicking frantically, he made his way slowly to the fresh air above. His chest ached, his arms and legs screamed out in pain, but Scorpius fought his way to freedom dragging Lily's leaden weight with him.

He felt the pressure lessen, saw the darkness dissolve, and with a gasp he broke the surface of the water coughing and spluttering. He pulled Lily behind him as he made his way to the shore drinking in mouthfuls of air. Wrapping both arms around her waist he pulled her through the shallow water, her arms and head hanging limp. As he pushed against her stomach to get a better grip, she retched and began coughing. He collapsed in the muddy water at the edge of the grass and pulled her to his chest, tears streaming down his face. She continued to cough and spit out water all over his robes, but he didn't care.

He heard the sound of hurried footsteps and saw James and Albus followed closely by Rose and Hugo.

"Lily!" James fell to his knees beside them. "Here, let me take her Scor. We have to get her to the hospital wing." Scor allowed James to lift Lily and carry her off, Rose walking beside them. Al and Hugo pulled him to his feet and pulled his arms around their shoulders, following James.

"I have to see the Headmistress." Scor choked out.

"You need the hospital wing."

"His ghost…Voldemort's ghost…it's here. He tried to kill Lily!"

"What!" They dropped his arms and he trudged off toward the castle both boys following. They neared the statue of the gargoyle and saw Headmistress Lovegood just coming out of her office. She looked around and smiled.

"Good evening boys. Been for a swim I see, nice night for it." Her voice sounded faraway and dreamy.

"No, Headmistress, Lily Potter's been hurt." He tried to still his shivers.

"Lily?"

"Yes, Voldemort's ghost is here. He did something to her."

"Voldemort!"

"Can you contact her father?"

Without another word, she pulled out her wand and waved it in the air. A silver hare flew out of the tip and hopped off down the hall. "Let's go to the hospital wing."

When they arrived, Lily was lying in a bed at the end of the wing surrounded by a sea of red and black hair. Albus and Hugo joined them, but Scor stood off to the side listening to the Headmistress speak to Madam Abbott.

"How is she Hannah?"

"Well, she swallowed quite a bit of the lake, but I think she'll be fine once I can get this sleeping potion into her."

"I've sent for Harry."

"Good. She's been muttering something about Tom and says she has to meet him."

Scor walked over to the bed, his clothes still clinging to him. He lifted the pendant over his head. As he came closer, James and Hugo moved to give him room. Her eyes were wide as she looked around at her cousins and brothers. Finally, they rested on him.

"Scor! Help me Scor!"

He bent over and slipped the golden chain around her neck. The opal rested against her chest and it seemed to glow. She relaxed immediately reaching for his hand. Holding it in between hers, she turned on her side and closed her eyes exhaling deeply.

He felt James pat his shoulder.

"Thanks, mate," he whispered. Scor nodded in response.

"Lily!"

"Lily!" Scor turned to see Mr. and Mrs. Potter hurrying over to them. He let go of Lily's hand and moved aside to give them room. Ginny leaned over and kissed Lily's brow stroking her hair soothingly while Harry took the hand Scor had relinquished.

"Mr. Potter?" Harry turned. "Um…can I have a word?"

"Sure." They walked off a short distance.

"Voldemort is here in the castle."

"Voldemort!"

"Well, his ghost anyway. I think he did something to Lily."

"She was visiting him," Hugo said from behind Harry. "I saw her going to that attic after History of Magic."

"And she just seemed so…unhappy, except when she wore that pendant I bought her."

"You bought her that?"

"Yes, sir. It's a patronus pendant." Harry smiled and rested his hand on Scor's shoulder.

"Well, let's find out what this is all about. Show me this room."

Scorpius led Harry out of the hospital wing and down the corridor. They made their way past the History of Magic classroom and down the hall to the stair.

"I hear I owe you a thanks for saving my daughter's life."

"I couldn't just let her die." Scor said, heat rising to his cheeks. Harry smiled.

"Reminds me of someone."

They climbed the staircase and Harry pushed the door open lighting his wand. The ghost hovered in the middle of the room as though he expected them.

"Harry Potter. My you've grown. Have you come to avenge your daughter's death? Ah, but what vengeance can be had upon the dead." His cruel laugh chilled the air.

"You never do learn do you Tom. Even death hasn't given you a clue."

"But my death has not lessened my influence. I always had a way with naïve little girls. You cannot imagine how easy it was to convince your daughter she was better of dead, like me. So easy to fill her heart with despair."

Scor clenched his fists and moved forward, but Harry held him back. 

"As usual, you refuse to respect the power of love."

"Love! Your love cannot bring her back, Potter."

"No, but this boy's love kept her from dying in the first place."

"What!"

"That's right. My daughter is safe in the hospital wing because this boy risked his life to save her." The ghost glared at Scor, and he felt anger welling up inside him.

"Malfoy? You think Malfoy loves your daughter? Malfoy's do not love."

"That shows what you know! My Grandmum lied to you because she loved my father! She did everything she could to save him from you! Just like I'll do whatever it takes to save Lily from you! You monster!" Harry held Scorpius back with his arm.

"That's right Voldemort, once again you are bested by the ancient magic, and you won't hurt my daughter or anyone else again," and raising his wand, Harry yelled, "Depello!" and the ghost vanished. Scor stared at the place where it had been.

"What did you do to him?"

"Banished him from the castle. He'll have to find somewhere else to haunt."

"Isn't that bad?"

"Not really. Most of the places Voldemort held dear were very secluded and hard to reach. He won't be much harm there."

"Oh."

Harry turned and walked back down the staircase, Scor following close behind.

"So you fancy Lily?" Scor felt his cheeks burn. Harry laughed. "Well, don't get any ideas right away. She's way too young for a boyfriend right now."

"Yes, sir." Harry put his arm around Scor's shoulder and then pulled it away again immediately the sleeve of his robe damp.

"I think you might need to change clothes." They both laughed.

**A/N: I hope you liked it. I got the idea for banishing Voldemort from book four where Myrtle tells Harry that Olive Hornsby went to the ministry to keep Myrtle from haunting her. Once again reviews are appreciated.**


	17. Salve on a Wound

Lily went back to classes the next week. Although physically she felt completely normal, mentally she still felt weak. She hated to admit how much of an influence the ghost had on her.

Scor came and sat down next to her on a black leather couch in the common room. She felt heat rise to her cheeks and clutched the opal.

"I can't believe I thought Sharpe gave it to me," she said as though continuing a previous conversation. She saw his face redden. "Thanks…for everything."

"It's nothing."

"That's not true. You saved me. I…I don't know how I can ever repay you," she blushed harder at the thought that flitted through her mind.

"What are friends for right?"

"Friends…" She smiled but felt disappointed.

James, Al, Rose, and Hugo had started sitting at the Slytherin table occasionally to keep Lily company. James and Al treated Scor as though he was their long lost brother. She watched the three of them and Hugo fly around above her as she and Rose lay on the pitch looking up at the clouds one weekend in March.

"How are things with you and Sharpe?"

"Great. He's taking me to Hogsmede next weekend. It doesn't bother you…does it, Lily?"

"Not at all. I'm happy for you." She watched Scor toss the quaffle into the hoop and punch the air.

"He must really care for you," Rose said. Lily looked over to see her cousin looking at Scor as well.

"He's a great friend." She smiled as he and Hugo high fived each other.

"He's better than just a friend, I think. He's pretty hot if you ask me." Lily jerked her head back around to see her cousin grinning at her. Lily felt the color heat her cheeks. "He loves you Lily."

"You think so?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Well, I thought he might but…," His words came back to her, _what are friends for?_

"You wait and see, in ten years I bet you'll be married with a house full of pink haired kids." They both burst out laughing, rolling on the grass clutching their stomachs.

She made her way to Professor Lovegood's office several weeks later mentally preparing herself. Since the lake incident, she had been having weekly "talks" with the headmistress. The talks were supposed to help her overcome her depression. The pendant did more good than these "sessions" in Lily's opinion.

"Hello Ms. Potter."

"Hello Professor Lovegood."

"So tell me, have you felt any better these past weeks?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, I know you don't like to recall it, but I think it will help you if you tell me again what it is the ghost said to you."

She remembered the eerily lit room and the opalescent ghost. Most of all she remembered his wispy voice.

"Well, at first he sympathized with me. He told me he understood how I felt. Then, he told me I didn't belong here." A chill washed over her. "He said I was too good for this place. He wanted me to be with him. He told me he was the only one who loved me." At this point she shivered spasmodically.

"It's okay. I understand. Ms. Potter, you do know there are people here who love you very much: family, friends, and a certain young Slytherin boy who can't keep his eyes off you." Lily nodded feeling her stomach knot up. "Talk to your Mum when you get home. I know she'll understand exactly what you are going through."

"Thanks, professor."

"Not at all. Now off to bed. You want to be ready for exams you know."

Lily's exams weren't as hard as she expected them to be. Scor sat with her every night in the common room and helped her study. She knew she would miss him during the summer, but she was also glad to be going home. She closed the lid of her trunk on all her neatly packed things and sat on her four-poster with her mirror in her hand.

"Scor." He appeared almost immediately.

"Hey! You all packed?"

"Yes, just finished—you?"

"Just started." He laughed and she felt her stomach tighten. She couldn't believe it had taken her so long to realize her feelings for her best friend.

"Scor, you will call me on the mirrors this summer, won't you?"

"Of course. Every day if you like." She heard someone snicker in the background.

"Yes, I'd like that. Well, I'd better let you get to packing."

"Okay see you tomorrow."

"Night." She held the mirror to her chest like she wished to hold him.


	18. Dumbstruck

**A/N: I have edited the entire story. Besides adding the previous chapter, I have added several sections to all the chapters and edited some parts that I thought interrupted the flow of the story. For those who have read it before, I would love to know if you think this is an improvement. All reviews are greatly anticipated. **

Lily, Scor, James, Al, Rose and Hugo were all crammed into a compartment on the Hogwarts Express.

"I'm looking forward to being home!" Al said from next to the window.

"Me too," James tore open a chocolate frog, "never thought school would be so stressful." They all laughed. Scor felt sure that he was the only person not really looking forward to going home. The large, stuffy manor would be even worse this summer because now he knew what he was missing. Being around the Potters and Weasleys made him wish for siblings of his own.

"Scor, you should come to visit us this summer," Al said as though reading his mind. Lily bounced on her seat.

"Yeah! We could practice Quidditch in the field near our house."

"And you could go with us to the game!" Hugo joined in the excitement. "We always go to see the Tornados play for Lily's birthday." Scor looked over at Lily and saw her blush.

"They're playing Pride of Portree. It should be a great game," James said.

"I don't know if my Dad will let me go." Scor thought of how much fun it would be to go to the game with Lily and her family and wished his own family wasn't so exclusive.

"Let Al ask," Rose piped up from behind her book. "Adults never turn him down."

"It's my puppy-dog look." Al demonstrated a simpering look which had them all doubled over in laughter.

"If you gave my Dad that look he would probably hex you!" Scor said.

"I could ask." Scor looked over to see Lily's face as red as her hair.

"Your parents may not want to have to get another ticket." Scor said knowing his father probably wouldn't let him go anyway.

"Oh, Dad won't mind," Al piped up, "Teddy's not going this year cause they have to pick out 'wedding robes'." Al grimaced at the last. "You can stay in my room."

"Al, you can't even find your bed! He can stay in my room," James said.

"My room's not that bad!"

"You left a sandwich growing mold on your desk all summer!"

"Well at least my socks don't smell like troll!"

"No they smell like dragon dung."

"Aren't you looking forward to visiting now, Scor?" Lily said and they all laughed.

They spent the rest of the time playing exploding snap. Al accused James of cheating when he got his eyebrows singed off. All too soon the train came to a stop at Platform 9 ¾. The Potters and Weasleys rushed off the train to their parents' waiting arms. As he slowly walked past them to where his father stood waiting he heard Albus and Lily begging their father to let them invite him to visit.

"Hello father."

"Scorpius. You have all your things?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, we'd better get going then." A hand on his shoulder stopped Scor from following his father. He looked up to see Harry Potter standing next to him smiling at his father.

"Draco, how are you?" His father stared at Harry's outstretched hand as though he might get leprosy if he touched it, but he finally took it and shook it briefly.

"Fine, Pot…Harry." The sound of Harry's name seemed to make his father sick. He watched Draco pulled at his collar.

"My wife and I were wondering if you would let us take Scorpius to the Tornado's game this summer to show our appreciation.

"Appreciation?" A tinge welled up in Scor.

"For his saving our daughter's life." Now his father looked at him as though seeing him for the first time. Scor berated himself for not telling his father.

"We'd love to have him come for the week before the game as well." Scor silently prayed that his father wouldn't refuse. If only he could get Draco to think about it, he might be able to convince him it was a good idea.

"When is the game?" Scor looked at his father in amazement. _Was he actually considering letting him go?_

"The first week of July." Harry squeezed his shoulder gently. Draco looked at him, and Scor silently begged him to let him go.

"I'll send him the week before then." Scor wasn't sure he heard properly. He wasn't sure his heart would continue to beat after the shock.

"Great!" Harry turned to Scor, "Well, see you then." Harry smiled and walked back to where Al and Lily stood bouncing on their heels anxiously. He watched the Potters listen to their father closely. Then all loud chorus of "Whoopie!" echoed through the station. Lily ran over to him and threw herself into his arms. He wasn't sure he could take much more emotion. She finally pulled away leaving him a bit breathless and turned to his father.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Malfoy." Draco looked as though he might choke.

"Your welcome."

"See you in July, Scor," and she walked back to her smiling family.

"Scor?" Draco raised his eyebrow. Scorpius just smiled. Perhaps his summer wouldn't be quite so lonely after all.

Fin

**A/N: I want to thank all of you who reviewed for all your encouragement. I'm thinking of writing a sequel. Let me know what you think. It would be when they are older. Let me know if you think it is a good idea. One again, thank you all my lovely reviewers. You are wonderful._ Update: The sequel is posted. It is called Quid Pro Quo for those who are interested in finding out what happens next.  
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